To the parents of the 125 kids that participated in the Holt Jr. Rams Baseball program last year, welcome back!!
We also had 86 new kids register that did not play with us last year (66 from Delhi Parks and Rec). Some of them I am sure are siblings of kids that have already played, but many are new and consequently there are many new families that are new to all this! A big welcome to all of you also!!
So player evaluations are done, now what??
First off, if your boy missed evaluations for whatever reason, there is a makeup session tomorrow (2-9-11). If he attended at least one of the weekend sessions, he does not have to attend this makeup. It is only for people that missed both days this weekend. Contact me for details.
Now the HJRB Board of Directors will meet to assemble the teams and will hopefully have them set by next week. The evaluation scores are used to group the boys by skill level. We play in the Mid-Michigan PONY League and there are various skill levels/divisions from A – G with Division A being the toughest. In order to compete in these various divisions we need to assemble teams the same way. We cannot group kids based on friend requests, the school they attend, or randomly. We can’t do a draft as that would result in all our teams having some kids that are exceptional, some that are middle of the road, and some that are still learning the basics. We need to build our “A” teams, then “B” teams, etc., in order to compete in the respective divisions. This also matches the kids up with other kids of similar skill level so there isn’t a wide disparity of ability. We want all the boys to have a chance to win some games, improve their skills, and have fun. We try our best to assemble the teams for this purpose and try to get them in the appropriate division so they play against kids of equivalent skills. We don’t want teams that get squashed every game, and on the flip side, we don’t want our teams to be in a division where they blowout all the other teams. We want good quality match-ups and that is what we will try to accomplish. So whether your boy gets put on the A team or a lower team, rest assured that all our teams are competitive and the goal is to have fun and continuously improve.
There will most likely be six teams in U10, five or six teams in U12, and three teams in U14. The number of Tier-2 teams will depend on evaluation scores and how many people signed up for that level. If you signed up for Tier-2, you will know that when the teams are assigned. Coaches will be selected after the boys are placed on teams. We look at all the parents that have volunteered, we look at their credentials, and we make the best choice we can. Selected head and assistant coaches will need to attend some coaches clinics, the PONY scheduling meeting in Mason, and will need to agree to a criminal history background check.
Tier-2 teams will start indoor practices at Lansing Indoor Sports Arena the week of March 6th. Tier-1 teams can start outdoor practices as soon as the weather permits, usually in early April. Games will begin in May, most likely the week of May 8th. PONY games are usually finished by the 4th of July. Some teams may still have tournaments scheduled into July and possibly even August.
Once teams are selected, the player fees will be due and must be paid no later than March 1.
A big thank-you to the Holt High School baseball coaches: Nate Potts, Varsity Head Coach; Scott Berman and Mark Roche, Varsity Assistant Coaches; Keith Allen, JV Head Coach; and Aaron Houser Freshman Coach. They did an awesome job with both the BOOTCAMP and the player evaluations. Try to get your boy(s) to one of the High School games this year!
Finally, thank you to everyone that contributed to the memorial fund for Taylyr Cochran, Holly Bossenbery, and Anthony Harris. We collected $391 which we will split between their memorials. What a great showing of community from everyone!
Thanks,
Brian Kayser, President
Holt Jr. Rams Baseball
p.s. Again this year, we have a great selection of HJRB merchandise at the HJRB online store. Check it out on our website. There are wicking shirts available which are great for practices, HJRB batting helmets, HJRB bat bags, window stickers, and of course adult sizes also so you parents can show your colors at the games!
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